DLR, I don't think a bungee would hold the AC cover on. But the old one was attached by a strip across the top that slides into a C channel attached to the camper. Then the cover slips over the AC and the bottom corners have bungee loops that hook to the camper. I added a Velcro strap on the bottom to take up the slack in the old cover. I made the new one exactly the same except deeper, which is why it didn't fit. I just opened up the seam a little more and added a second Velcro on the bottom. The cover shouldn't go anywhere. Well, anywhere we don't drag it, anyway.

Today I'm trying to get our staple foods in order. I'm drastically cutting back on seasoning and trying to figure out which can be used for multiple purposes. So far, so good. I know it will all come together someday, but it sure gets confusing at times. It's hard to take along all we need that fits our new food guidelines. It was so much simpler when we could just have chips and brats with a can of pork and beans and call it good. It's even harder now that we can't just buy stuff like salad dressings, we need HM. Oh, well. I keep finding good ideas to try.

Kathy - so many classic books I enjoyed reading on the internet. It takes a little bit of getting used to, but you will. I read many Dickens books. "Bleak House" is wonderful of course. Also try "The Scarlet Pimpernel" - that was a surprisingly fun read.

Well, that didn't last long. I was all proud of myself for paring down the seasonings and eliminating one whole case of spices. But then later I was looking through the camper's recipe books and saw I really do need all the variety of stuff I had in that case. Ugh. At least I figured it out before we were someplace needing something. I can fine-tune what I'm taking, I'm sure, but not eliminate it all. It's just part of being able to DIY healthier food, and I have to accept the supplies for that take up some space.

I also added a six pack of half pint jars today, containing seasoning mixes we've recently started using.

Food is the #1 thing to deal with for camping. Wish it wasn't but I don't know how to change that and still eat relatively healthy.

Bleak House is my favorite Dickens novel. Another favorite is Trollope’s Barchester Towers. They top my Victorian list. I’m listening to an oddity now - Seashaken Houses, about some of the lighthouses built on offshore rocks around the coasts of England, Scotland, and Ireland. It’s surprisingly interesting. The Audible daily deal today was a book on wolves that got good reviews, on sale for 1.95. That’s a good deal so that book will be coming up on my listening list eventually. It’s unusual to get a daily deal since there are an awfully lot more books in the world that I don’t want to read than those I do.

More of the same today. I’m almost finished with the tricky bits on the cross stitch but I’m working a straightforward patch now. I’ll have to move the hoop to get to the other part. I only did one scarf yesterday but would like to finish off the periwinkle today, though that may be too ambitious.

We’re so isolated out here that they sign up little girl for all the activities they can find to keep her busy and socialized - lol - for the summer. This is one of her busy weeks. Monday she was at some church for a chocolate workshop. It was led by a local chocolatier (we actually have one of those??) who learned his art in Belgium. The kids learned all about cocoa and then were taught how to make molds. It looked delicious. Yesterday she was at the aquarium for a behind the scenes look, and then the group went to a nearby museum of some sort for the afternoon. Today it’s birdwatching, learning to id birds, and an afternoon excursion to a private aviary somewhere. She’s one lucky kid!

dc - the lg's activities sound like things I'd sign up to do if I had the time and opportunity. There's a foodways historian who does a chocolate workshop at a few sites in my area but I usually seem to hear about them after the fact. I've gone to a couple of her other demos and liked doing them. The lg would probably like the living history farm I go to since it's pretty hands-on, especially with the kids. They have camps in the summer and groups during the rest of the year (when it's open) where the kids go around and do chores on the farm. They also do crafts and have a snack.

Getting close to finished on skein #9/10-ish on the w-b afgan. I think the afgan's ~80% finished. Fortunately, it's been cool enough to have it on my legs in the evenings. On the other hand, I looked at the one skein of wool yarn left over from another project and I think some kind of bug might have gotten into it. I need to find cedar chips/balls to go in with my wool sweaters. Fortunately, I have to go get some new work shoes and that stores in the same mall as the local Joann's. Although I could probably just look for the nearly cobbler and see if I can get the soles on the current work shoes replaced/fixed. I do need to get some wool yarn for a project I promised a friend, though.

Food is the #1 thing to deal with for camping. Wish it wasn't but I don't know how to change that and still eat relatively healthy.

If it were me I'd really be narrowing down the number of recipes and the number of ingredients, and using seasoning mixes and prepared (home made) mixes as much as possible. Making very simple food, also eating the same dish more than once. A baggie of HM bbq rub takes up lots less space than a jar of oregano, a jar of paprika, a jar of garlic, etc. and can be used on beef and chicken, and even vegetables. I have a salt-free herb blend I love, too. At home I would not use it every night, but if I was camping I totally would use it every time I cooked chicken or fish during the entire week. It works in tuna, pasta, and chicken salad, and is great on vegetables.

I know it's a game these days to make the most elaborate recipes when you're camping or tailgating (and I'm not saying you do that), but for me it was always about simplicity. What is the least amount of crap I can pack. The last time I went camping we had to carry (walk) everything in to a site with no fresh water and no toilets. It was a bit rough. I don't remember what food we took, but it was very simple stuff.

Right now I'm taking a break from pitting cherries. I learned a tip from a friend, freeze the cherries in a pie plate lined with plastic wrap. It makes a nice flat disc for storage, and you know you have the exact amount for a pie. I believe I can get two pies and a batch of jam out of what I picked. I may invite myself back to pick another pie's worth this weekend.

Got to get those jam jars washed.....

Stop trying to organize all of your familyís crap. If organization worked for you, youíd have rocked it by now. Itís time to ditch stuff and de-crapify your world.

If you're not using the stuff in your home, get rid of it. You're not going to start using it more by shoving it into a closet.

I want to trade lives with that little girl. Her life seems much more fun than mine.

There is a great irony to working in the big city. There are so many activities going on, but between work and a long commute, I wind up not really having the time and energy to go to most of them. I did go to a museum yesterday though. I got lucky and the lines were short for the Natural History Museum. I saw the Winners for the Smithsonian Wildlife Photography of the year. I also walked through the "Objects of Wonder" exhibit. It was one of those miscellaneous bit of our collection exhibits, but very nicely displayed.

Well actually I do reasonable good at seeing museum exhibits - at least for the ones I can walk to during lunch. It is things like festivals and outdoor concerts I tend to not see.

But really for the most part, I have lots of things I like doing on my own.

For classic literature:

Classic literature can be good. But it can be a bit of minefield too. Sometimes you run into things where people from non-white ethnic groups and non-Christian religions come across as really horrible and offensive descriptions. And Sherlock Holmes had one where the Mormon church got a particularly bad evil cult treatment.

Some people have talked about old books as being sexist. But I have less issue with that. Most of the time they are portraying women in a stereotypical way, but not as a negative stereotype.

Well back to books. I read Scarlet Pimpernel a few years ago. I read Heidi. I read Alice in Wonderland. I read Princess of Mars. Maybe not a classic to some people, but some old fantasy/SF classics are now in public domain. I plan on reading more of the Barsoom series. That is the books by Edgar Rice Burroughs that end in "of Mars." About 2/3 of the series is in public domain now.

I might re-read Anne of Green Gables. I read that when I was young. I did not realize at the time how old it was.

But meanwhile I have found some interesting free books on Wattpad by contemporary authors. So I am exploring that now.

I have started the drawing lessons/exercises on the website drawabox. The first lessons are all drawing lines. Not too exciting, but it is supposed to build foundational skills. Section 2 has three dimensional shapes and section 3 has plants.

Welp. I don't have to bring my computer to the store to get fixed. Turns out that I somehow changed the settings to the internal speakers. I was able to change the settings back to the external speakers so I can actually listen to things. I knew it couldn't be something like a defective part since it just stopped working suddenly and everything else seemed to be ok.

Picked up some of the wool yarn for my friend's afgan. It's for her mother(-in-law). I did get it started since it'll make things easier to pick up once I decide to get going on it. Not sure how much I'm going to work on it with the weather getting warmer. I do have a lapgan WIP I can work on since that doesn't cover my legs as much as the w-b afgan does. Plus the lapgan is a stash-buster project and I'll feel like I'm accomplishing something since it's smaller than the WIP's I have now.

R - that’s good news about your computer. The only thing I miss about working at the library is that I could show up at our IT person’s door and wail “What’s wrong with this (whatever) thing?” and it would get fixed. Now that was a great perk! By the way, I am utterly in awe of anyone who would make an afghan from fingering weight yarn. That’s amazing. I’m sure it will be gorgeous.

There are so many things I want to learn and to do - especially the crazy quilting style embroidery. I have a bunch of hexagons made. I have all the stuff, piles of great stuff. Enticing books and gotta-do-it-now ideas, but ...

I am really getting into the cross stitch again. Going through the kits to pick one out was like eating one potato chip, not to mention all the fun WIPs. Cross stitch was always my first love. And do you want to hear the really silly part? I find I’m feeling guilty about it, which is absurd. I’ve spent a lot on money on gathering the materials for that stash and on books for it, so I should get on with it and make use of it, right? That’s just dumb. This is entertainment, not a moral test. So I have read myself a lecture about the idiocy of thinking I was obligated to use one stash over another - I have a substantial cross stitch stash too, to say the least - and if I want to go back to cross stitch for a while it’s perfectly ok. So I hereby give myself permission to dive back into that.

I’m making good progress with the little sheep. I also finished two more periwinkle scarves. That finished what I could get from this bag. I have a partial cake left but I will hold that back until whatever year I get to the second bag of it. The next grab bag turned out to be a big one. It’s the banana berry variegated, a favorite that I have a lot of because at one time I was going to make an afghan with it and macaw. I never did and have used some of both of those for other things, but I still have five full skeins. I’ll be working in that for quite a while. If I get too tired of it, I’ll get another gran bag and alternate them. Variety will keep me more motivated. Today’s count is 35 ready to go.

I have sometimes spent a bunch on craft supplies I wind up not using or only using a little bit off. I deal with the guilt by not really thinking about it too much. I do sometimes come back to them.

My husband sometimes teases me about stopping one craft to start another. I sometimes think to myself that I do not lose interest in a craft till I have spent at least $100 in supplies for it. I have tried with embroidery to go slowly with picking up supplies. So the rough idea is that after I have completed a few more projects, then I will buy more stuff.

Although I prefer the pearl cotton, I still have lots of old DMC embroidery floss. I also have a handful of other embroidery floss.

I am trying to think of what things I can do with what I have. I am trying to remember why I picked up multiple shades of purple pearl cotton. Well I suppose I used a grand total of 3 or 4 yards of purple on the mini unicorn.

I want to get as far through the bird book I can with the felt and thread I have. The robin will be a dark red for the breast instead of a bright red. It looks more folksy that way I think. I will probably break down and get the floral wire and floral tape for the birds legs. It is pretty cheap. I still need to double check if we have thin enough wire at home though.

K - Iím looking forward to seeing your birds. I would like to try some of them someday, but not now.

Iíve been thinking about the big Christmas pattern I ordered. 123 Stitch some time ago added a new DMC floss, called Mouline Etoile, or something like that. I donít know if itís a new product or just new to them. Itís a regular weight six strand floss but has a little shiny filament incorporated in it. I used some red on the last embroidery and liked it. I think it would be fun to use for the Christmas pattern. Itís not in a lot of colors, but does have dark red, blue, green, and purple. I havenít decided on it yet for sure. I donít think I have a large enough piece of fabric for it so I will have to check that too. I could get the additional thread then. I said a few days ago it was too early to start Christmas projects, but Iíve waited so long to get that pattern that it may be irresistible. Since itís the Quaker motif style, it would also be a good one to work with along with the crocheting. As motifs were finished it would feel like progress.

I'm not doing anything fancy with it, just single stitch. It just takes longer than most afgans due to having to use a smaller sized hook and the weight of the yarn. Yeah, the yarn's expensive but this is for myself so I don't mind the price as much. It's not something I'd do for very many people due to the work and price involved. Even the wool yarn I'm using for the afgan for my friend's mother is less expensive. It will also go faster. I think I also have some skeins left over from previous projects in my stash that I may use for another afgan for myself. I really enjoy the colors but I think they're no longer available. That's sad since the colors were so pretty, especially together.

Wow, thatís beautiful yarn. I can see why you love it. I looked and jumped back from Etsy as fast as I could after a moment looking at - lol. Lead me not into temptation. Etsy is one of the most dangerous places online.

I did enough damage all by myself this afternoon. I looked and indeed did not have anything large enough except a gray in a shade really too dark for the new pattern. It would look quite dead. I went through colors here and the one I thought I would use, white chocolate, wasnít really what I wanted when I put the thread with it. I settled on one called French lace that I donít quite know how to describe - a light color but no yellow cast at all. A little beige, or light taupe? It looked quite different depending on what it was next to. I have a very light silvery gray, but rejected that color. It is 32 count and this is such a large pattern I didnít want to have to count over two. Itís also a very lightweight fabric and given the size of the pattern I think the fabric needs a little more body. With these being separate motifs I would be guaranteed to mess it up counting from one to the next. Also the French lace color warmed it up a little, but not too much. I hope it works out. It will have too because cross stitch fabric is $$$$.

I decided to use the sort of sparkly DMC sparingly, maybe on the little in between bits or for highlights on the big ones. It would also be quite expensive to use throughout and sparkle overkill. The numbers match regular DMC so I got a few extra skeins of those. I also got overdyed skeins of dark red, purple, green, and a blue that I hope will work. They are dark colors, good matches for the DMC with very subtle, that is not much, variation. This will probably be a project of years to completion.

CH, what you said about camping is pretty much what I think, too. Simple stuff, not too many dirty dishes. I rarely do meals that are complex. We often eat repeat meals. My standard first week meals usually involve a gallon of pasta salad, and a gallon of garden salad. We eat it till it's gone for almost every meal, and that's how I know both will keep at least 8 days in a cooler. I take a couple dozen boiled eggs for quick and simple protein, which also keep a week or more. Second week, I make things like wild rice and bean salad using a premix of dressing that goes with it. That keeps for another week. I'm looking for more recipes like that.

The 1 cup jars of seasoning mixes are intended to last all summer and have multiple purposes. I have small flat cloth bags that hold smaller amounts. One has 8 jars that only hold a tbsp. It might not sound like much but if something needs 1/8 tsp of cayenne, it's going to be lacking without it. It all sounds like a lot but doesn't actually take much space. If we were still tent camping I would definitely not take all this extra with, but being able to have more amenities is the main reason we gave up tenting.

I'd be very interested in your salt free seasoning blend if you want to share.

So this trip is one of those where we're back to being camping newbies, it seems like. All kinds of SPUTs (Stupid Pop Up Tricks) that you would think people who've been doing this for 17 years would know better. Mostly it's been forgetting how simple things work. Ugh. Really dumb things like forgetting the bug spray and then going on a 2 mile hike. In a bog. In northern Minnesota. In mid-June. We deserve every itchy bite we got for that one. We just turned the AC on a while ago. Listened to the compressor kick in. No cooling. What? Listened to compressor shut off. Why? Pushed buttons a while. Nothing. *facepalm* Nobody remembered to take the cover off. New AC is now working great and we're approaching meat locker temps. SPUT.

Couldn't get the water pump to prime. Tried all the tricks. No water. I like having water. Not having it sucks. Washing dishes in cold water sucks. Not being able to wash hands sucks. This morning Husby thought maybe he forgot to close the tank drain. Turns out he closed it, but the valve is leaking and all the water was gone from the tank and WH. We refilled the tanks and it all works again, but putting in a new valve is going to be a big repair due to where it's located. *sigh* Just when I thought we were catching up.

Some things are going right though. The new swivel to keep the dogs from being tangled is worth its weight in gold. They've been tied out for hours over the past 2 days and we have not had to untangle them once. Not. One. Time. That's a game changer. No more having to get up every 10 seconds to sort out their twisted cables. We can sit around camp and actually relax. The swivel is the best thing we've done for camping in a long time.